RPI to CPI: Indexation of State Pensions
and Public Service Pensions
Rally and Lobby of Parliament
1 March 2011
A pensioners’ rally and Lobby of Parliament is being organised for 1 March 2011 by the Public Service Pensioners Council (PSPC), National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC), Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance (CSPA) and Occupational Pensioners’ Alliance (OPA) and supported by Age UK.
The Lobby is to oppose the Government’s decision to change the inflation link for pensions from the RPI to the CPI. This change, which will significantly affect your income in retirement, will apply from April 2011 to State second pensions, public service pensions and some private occupational pensions and from April 2012 to the State basic pension as well.
The Lobby will involve attendees meeting their MPs from 2.30pm. You will be asking MPs to show their opposition to the change by opposing the statutory orders needed to implement the changes.
There will be a “rally” meeting with speakers in the House of Commons between 1.15pm and 2.15pm to provide a focus for the day. Please see overleaf for details of the Lobby and rally.
It is very important that as many members as possible take some sort of action in this campaign to oppose the switch to the CPI. Please see below a list of other actions you can do to help in the campaign – whether or not you can attend the Lobby.
Thank you for your support in opposing the switch to the CPI. We look forward to seeing you at the Lobby on 1 March 2011.
Yours sincerely
ANDREW MORRIS
General Secretary, Public Service Pensioners Council
ROGER TURNER
General Secretary, Occupational Pensioners Alliance
MIKE DUGGAN
General Secretary, Civil Service Pensioners Alliance
DOT GIBSON
General Secretary, National Pensioners Convention
Details of the Lobby and Rally
On the day of the Lobby, MPs can be lobbied from 2.30pm onwards. Lobbying involves members meeting their MPs in the Central Lobby in the House of Commons and then going somewhere (tea room, meeting room or somewhere in the immediate area) to talk.
You will be asking MPs to show their opposition to the change by:
- voting against the Social Security Benefits (Uprating) Order which applies the change to State second pensions; and
- “praying against” the Pensions (Increase) Order applying the change to public service pensions as well.
The rally (guest speakers to be advised later) will start at 1.15pm and finish at 2.15pm in Committee Room 6. The mass Lobby will take place following the rally. MPs have been advised of the Lobby arrangements and have been invited to attend the rally.
It is advisable to contact your MP beforehand so make arrangements to meet. A model letter is available for this purpose if you contact us via the website.
The ideal time to see your MP would be some time after the rally has finished but it may be that your MP is only available to meet you before or during the rally. If you do not arrange a time with your MP prior to the Lobby day, you can still attend the Lobby and arrange a meeting under the ‘Green Card’ system but you may have to leave the building after the rally and queue to re-enter.
If you are not able to attend the mass Lobby of Parliament you can still lobby your MP locally at the constituency surgery. If you do this you will still need to arrange a suitable time to meet your MP. So that we can monitor numbers attending please register online at www.publicservicepensions.org.uk
What else you can do!
There are a number of other things you can do to help stop the Government switching the indexation method from the RPI to the CPI.
Please do at least one of the following, although the most effective action you can take is to attend the rally and Lobby of Parliament on 1 March 2011.
- If you can’t attend the mass Lobby, arrange to meet your MP locally at his or her constituency surgery
- Write to your MP to ask them to support our campaign by opposing the statutory orders to implement the changes
- Sign, circulate and return the NPC petition against the change in indexation below
- Ask 5 of your friends to do all of the above!
